Special Delivery
by maryaun
Summary: Who knew that finding her ex under her desk wouldn't be the most unusual part of Gail's day.


The faint sound of snickering prompted Gail to stop what she was doing and look down between her legs. For some unknown reason, Frankie was hiding under her desk.

"I swear, it's not what it looks like." Frankie's lack of meaningful eye contact contradicted her protestations.

"Good. Because the last time you were this up close and personal with my vagina you sneezed."

"Definitely not one of my finest moments," Frankie grumbled as she shifted from one uncomfortable position into another. "Mind you, neither is this."

"How long have you been down there anyway?"

"Long enough to witness you pull out your wedgie. Twice." Frankie smirked. "Damn, Peck! Haven't you heard of boyshorts?"

Gail narrowed her eyes, pinning Frankie with a glare that would make any grown man shake, but it failed to have the desired effect. Before she could order the detective to get the hell out of there, Chloe appeared at the other side of the desk.

"Good morning, Officer Peck!" the young officer greeted, much too cheerily for Gail's liking.

Gail groaned. "Did you catch a ride to work on a rainbow this morning?"

Chloe cocked her head to the side and smiled. "No, silly, I drove my Toyota."

Gail leaned back in her chair and gripped the armrests with both hands, anything to stop herself from scrambling across her desk and choking the woman.

"Have those amazing baby blues of yours seen Detective Anderson this morning? I could have sworn I saw her walk over here a few minutes ago." Chloe scanned the bullpen with determination in her eyes.

Sharp nails dug into Gail's leg the moment she opened her mouth to answer. With an equally fast reflex, she kicked back, and her boot connected with its target with the most satisfying thud.

"Save me!" Frankie whispered, her hands clinging so tight to her pant leg that Gail became nervous that she may actually pull them down, regardless of the fact she was wearing her heavy utility belt. Gail gazed down into pleading green eyes. The longer Gail stared, the more obvious it became that Frankie was struggling with something internally. But what, Gail didn't know. The fact that she was even considering taking pity on the abrasive woman who once kept her in a steady supply of orgasms surprised her. But the thought of having Frankie owe her did hold a certain appeal.

Focusing back on her report, Gail replied, "Unless she is covered in chocolate sprinkles and inside that Krispy Kreme box over there, I haven't seen her." She smirked ruefully to herself before continuing. "Can't say I want to either. What an unpleasant shrew she is."

This time, Gail felt a punch to her leg, but all revenge efforts were stifled when Frankie grabbed her ankles and forcibly held them to the floor.

"That's...really mean, Gail." Gail glanced up from her report. From the look on Chloe's face, you'd assume Gail had simultaneously kicked her puppy and drowned her kitten. At the sound Frankie cursing beneath Gail's desk, Chloe's expression turned to one of confusion. "Did you hear that?"

"Probably just the voices in your head warning you to leave me alone," Gail quipped, "I strongly urge you to take their advice."

Chloe shook her head, ignoring Gail's taunt. "Can you do me a favor then?"

"Nope," Gail answered automatically.

"Good. Could you please give this to Detective Anderson when you see her? I am about to head out on patrol and it's important that she gets it." Chloe dangled a large padded envelope in front of Gail's face but Gail didn't take it. "It's secret police business and it's for her eyes only," Chloe added.

The sudden nervous energy that jumped off Chloe in waves piqued Gail's curiosity and she tentatively took the sealed envelope from the officer's hands and inspected it. She even went as far as holding it to her ear to check if it was ticking. "What do I get out of doing this for you? Especially if you are forcing me to go near Frankie Anderson."

"Daily hugs," Chloe offered with a cheeky grin.

"No deal," Gail scoffed. She tried to give the envelope back but Chloe pushed it back into her hands. A counter-offer sprang to Gail's mind, "How about… you promise to never hug me again and I will pass it on to her."

Chloe's brow furrowed and her gaze clouded in what almost looked like pain; Gail couldn't help but laugh at the indecision. "Take it or leave it, Price."

Chloe looked at her watch, seemingly pressed for time. The young police officer hated to keep her patrol partners waiting. She sighed, and to Gail's delight and utter fucking amazement, eventually nodded her head. Never in a million years did Gail think Chloe would agree to such terms. The perky redhead loved a sneak attack, especially on those who protested the most, making Gail a prime target for such attacks.

"You can always find another cranky bitch to fill the void," Gail suggested, pleased with herself. Her eyes lit up at an idea. "Oh, I know. How about Detective Anderson? She'd be up for just about anything."

"Oh, no, I couldn't do that." Chloe sounded adamant. "Frankie doesn't do hugs."

"Suck shit, Peck." The whisper came from below and Gail did her best to ignore it.

"I don't _do_ hugs either but that's never stopped you."

Chloe wagged her finger. "You see, that's where you're wrong. I have it on good authority that you actually secretly love hugs."

Gail straightened in her chair. "On whose warped authority is that?"

"Wouldn't you like to know," Chloe grinned. "I should go." She pointed to the envelope in Gail's hand. "If you don't see Detective Anderson, could you please put that in her box?"

It was Gail's turn to grin. "Holly said I'm not allowed to put anything in Frankie's box ever again."

To Gail's amusement, Chloe's face scrunched up at her entendre'. "Just...pass it on to her, okay?" Chloe asked, more forcefully this time.

Gail regarded her with a mixture of amusement and suspicion; something shifty was going on but she had neither the desire nor energy to figure it out. "Fine," Gail relented, "you're just lucky I'm in a good mood."

Chloe perked up again. "And now you're going to be in an even better mood, here comes your girl. Holly!"

Gail spun in her chair and frowned as Chloe ran up to Holly and embraced her in a tight hug.

Initially, Holly looked surprised, almost dropping Gail's old Ren and Stimpy lunchbox she was carrying, but then she returned the hug with equal enthusiasm. When Chloe finally released her, she whispered something into her ear that Gail couldn't make out. Chloe then glanced back over her shoulder and winked at Gail before skipping away.

"Hey, honey." Holly strode into the bullpen. "Chloe just thanked me for–how did she put it?–filling the void. Do you know what that was about?"

"I haven't the faintest idea." Even if it did annoy her, it was better she hugged Holly than me, Gail thought.

Holly squinted at her curiously. "Anyway…I brought you lunch." She held up the lunchbox.

"My hero!" Gail stood and was greeted with one of those hugs she secretly loved so much. She accepted the lunchbox and looked inside. Not only had Holly made Gail's favorite–a chicken and bacon sub with mayo and sweet chili sauce–but she'd included a giant, rather gooey, chocolate brownie. "And what did I do to deserve this?"

Holly shrugged. "I missed you and wanted an excuse to see you."

Gail pouted despite the giddiness coursing through her veins. "You didn't bring any fake case files with you? I thought that was our thing."

"I thought I'd give the poor trees a break. I'm all about the environment these days."

"Right," Gail smirked, "says the person who forgot to put out the recycling this morning."

"A bit hard to do when you're naked and pinned to a bed."

"Not that you, Holly the horndog, are complaining."

"I wouldn't dare." Holly smiled genuinely, seeking out Gail's hand.

Gail locked their fingers together, relishing in the warmth and familiarity of Holly's hand in hers. She looked deeply into Holly's eyes. "Have I told you today how much I love you?" It had surprised Gail just how easily and frequently those words could roll off her tongue now. She'd promised herself she'd make every effort to tell Holly how she felt, even if on occasion she felt a little embarrassed doing so. Today was not one of those occasions.

"Once or twice," Holly answered, grinning. "Though it never hurts to hear it again."

"I–" was all Gail managed to express because her chair was pushed into her knees from behind. _Shit!_ She'd completely forgotten about Frankie.

"Quick! Someone find me a bucket." Frankie mock gagged as she came out of hiding. Once upright, she brushed the dust from her jeans and nodded curtly in Holly's direction. "Hollis."

"Franklin." Holly nodded back, weirdly unfazed by her girlfriend's ex-lovers sudden presence. "Always nice to see you."

"Yes, I think it would be," Frankie replied, cockiness heavy in her tone.

"Walk away that is," Holly said smugly. "Run along now, detective."

Frankie hesitated for a moment before picking up the padded envelope from Gail's desk and mumbling something under her breath as she left.

"You have no idea how incredibly turned on I am right now," Gail admitted having witnessed Frankie's dismissal. But with the way her blues eyes smoldered, Holly would have a pretty clear idea just how much. "Do you have somewhere to be, or can you…" Gail discreetly, yet seductively, trailed her fingers up Holly's arm.

It took Holly all of two seconds to cave. "Screw the trees. I'm sure I can conjure up a fake case file or two that I need to discuss with you in private. One quick question, though: What was Frankie doing under your desk?"

"Polishing my shoes."

Holly raised her eyebrow as if to say 'try again'.

"She was hiding."

"From who?"

"Chloe. I think they worked a case together last week so I can only assume Frankie reached her exposure limit."

"Ah." Holly glanced over Gail's shoulder, towards the front desk. "Looks like Franklin needs to work on her hide and seek game."

Gail turned around in time to witness Chloe approach Frankie from behind and tap her on the shoulder. To Gail's surprise, instead of backing away in the opposite direction, which Gail had seen Frankie do on many occasions, the detective smiled. Chloe pointed to the envelope in Frankie's hand, which Frankie then diligently tore open, but before she could pull out whatever was inside, Chloe stopped her in a rush. "Not here," Gail thought she heard Chloe say.

 _Maybe they are covering up evidence._ Gail frowned at that thought. Their division had seen enough corruption over the past year to last them a lifetime.

"If working on a case also means screwing each other's brains out, then sure," Holly said. "Ten bucks it's Franklin's underwear in that envelope."

Gail laughed. "Have you been sniffing the Formalin again? Frankie can't stand Chloe."

Holly smiled like she knew something Gail didn't. "From what you told me, Frankie wasn't particularly fond of you either but that didn't seem to stop her from getting in your p–"

Gail covered Holly's mouth with her hand. "I am starting to rethink telling you things," Gail mumbled. "Besides, Chloe is as straight as my mother's spine at the dinner table."

"Honey, I hate to break this to you, but I've caught Chloe staring at my chest on more than one occasion."

"Well…maybe she has boob envy. I mean, look," Gail took a step back to appreciate her girlfriend's assets, which looked yummy in the partially unbuttoned red shirt, "yours are exquisite."

Holly chuckled as Gail ogled her. "My my, haven't we come a long way since your little interrogation of my sexuality at Noelle's wedding."

"Lucky for you." Gail waggled her eyebrows.

"Very lucky indeed."

"Now stop talking crazy about Chloe and Frankie. I still need to print off my report and hand it into Oliver." She kissed Holly on the cheek, then whispered, "I'll meet you…you know where."

/

Five minutes later, Gail and Holly walked towards each other from opposite ends of the corridor and met outside one of the interrogation suites. Gail looked in either direction to check that the coast was clear before pulling Holly inside.

The instant they were alone, Gail's lips were on Holly's, her hand blindly fumbling for the lock on the door as she pinned Holly against it. "God, I missed you," Gail mumbled, peppering kisses down Holly's neck. "When was the last time we kissed?"

"This morning after we showered together." Holly moaned as Gail spun her around and pushed her up against the one-way observation mirror that looked into the interrogation room.

"Too long...fuck me!"

Holly gripped Gail tighter as she pulled away, "I'm trying."

"No, seriously, fuck me! My eyes!" Gail turned Holly by the shoulders so she faced the one-way mirror.

Holly laughed. "Is that Frankie and…"

"Princess Bi." Gail cringed and covered her eyes. "Yep, I'll never unsee that image."

Holly patted Gail's arm affectionately, "At least they're not naked."

"Yet." Gail peeked through her fingers. "Frankie looks like she is about to do her patented remove-the-bra-through-the-shirt move."

Raising an eyebrow, Holly walked over to the intercom but Gail stopped Holly's hand as she moved to press the button.

"The woman has seen you naked. The least you can do is let me tease her about this," Holly justified.

Who was Gail to deny her girlfriend that pleasure? After all, Gail found bitchy Holly to be quite the turn on. Gail nodded, deciding she'd tease Frankie relentlessly about this later.

Holly cleared her throat before pressing the button. "Why Franklin, who knew that you were such a bottom?" She and Gail giggled as they watched the women on the other side of the mirror leap apart as if they'd burned each other.

"What the fuck? I thought you locked the doors!" Frankie scolded Chloe as she fumbled with the buttons of her own shirt.

"I thought I did!" Chloe tucked in her shirt before opening the adjoining door. "How was I supposed to know that Gail would be hooking up with Dr. Stewart in the other room?" Chloe asked as she gave Gail's rumpled attire a once over.

Frankie brushed past Chloe and scooped up the padded envelope by Gail's feet. Gail hadn't even noticed it earlier and could only assume it had been disposed of in her colleagues rush to rip each other's clothes off. _Been there_ , Gail thought.

"Because they're always hooking up in inappropriate places! How did you think I thought of this place?"

Chloe threw her hands up in a huff.

Both Gail and Holly couldn't hold back their laughter as they followed Frankie and Chloe back into the corridor. Gail couldn't wait any longer, she had to join in on the teasing, only this time she directed it at Chloe. "I thought you had to go on patrol, Officer Price. I didn't know that Detective Anderson needed to be strip-searched."

Chloe attempted to straighten out her uniform. "Officer Ramos needed to use the restroom if you must know!" She rushed away as Frankie glared at the laughing couple before chasing after her. In her rush to catch Chloe, Frankie dropped the envelope.

Holly picked it up and chuckled as she peeked inside. She tossed it to Gail. "You owe me ten bucks."

"I'll take your word for it," Gail said as she unceremoniously dropped the envelope on Gerald's desk. She had no desire to see Frankie's underwear again. Holly's, on the other hand… "I don't suppose you want to go back into the interrogation room do you?" At Holly's incredulous expression, Gail sighed as she sat back down at her desk and opened her lunchbox. "Fine. At least sit with me while I eat and help me think up ways to torture Frankie and Chloe." She pulled out a chair for Holly. "I'll even give you a bite of my brownie," she declared with a mouth full of chicken sub.

Holly threw her head back and laughed. "No, you won't."

"You're right, but I will let you lick the cling wrap."

"I'd rather lick– Franklin."

Crumbs spurted from Gail's mouth as she choked. "You better be fucking joking."

Holly rolled her eyes. "No! Franklin, she's back."

A moment later, Frankie walked past.

"Don't you have dead people to talk to?" Frankie asked Holly as she scoured the area for something. "Where the fuck is that fucking envelope?"

Gail and Holly smirked knowingly at each other. "I think Gerald found it and took it to evidence lock-up," Gail lied and watched as the color drained from Frankie's face, leaving her so pale she made Gail herself look positively sunkissed. "Why? What was in it?"

Frankie didn't answer, but instead hightailed it out of there.

"Did you see her face?" Gail cracked up. "So funny."

"I saw her turn as white as a ghost. Do you think she's okay?" Holly stood, guilt written across her face. "Maybe I should…"

"You're too nice for your own good," Gail said as Holly walked over and retrieved the envelope from Duncan who'd just sat down at his desk.

Holly glanced back at Gail, then towards the direction Frankie had run. "I'm just gonna…"

"Go," Gail shook her head, smiling. "I'll see you at home later."

"I'm making fajitas for dinner, extra spicy, so bring your appetite." Holly backed out of the bullpen and blew Gail a kiss.

In the time it took Holly to disappear, Duncan had waltzed up to Gail's desk and sat on the corner of it. "I love spicy, can I–"

"No!"

/

Four hours later, while she was following up on a lead for Traci on the missing person's database, Gail's phone pinged with a message. Her eyes lit up when she saw it was from Holly.

 ** _OK, don't kill me._**

Gail shook her head as she typed her reply.

 _I try to prevent murders, not commit them. What did you do?_

 ** _Earlier at the station, I may have accidentally invited Frankie to dinner._**

"Are you freaking kidding me?"

 _How do you accidentally invite someone to dinner?_

Gail watched as the three little dots indicating Holly was typing danced at the bottom corner of the screen. Fed up after a minute of waiting, she sent Holly another message.

 _Whatever essay you are writing, stop, it doesn't matter. Accidentally disinvite her, please._

 ** _I can't do that._**

Gail typed furiously.

 _Why the hell not?_

 ** _Because it's obvious she needs someone to talk to about her feelings for Chloe._**

 ** _She's seemed very conflicted. Why do you think she was hiding under your desk?_**

Gail pinched the bridge of her nose as she responded. Why did Holly have to make friends with everyone Gail had ever slept with?

 _Fine. She can come. But tell her to bring tequila. And not that drain water she keeps in her freezer. I want the good stuff._

 ** _I would ask her if I had her number :D_**

Gail cursed under her breath.

 _Fuck this. I'm moving to San Francisco._

 ** _Cool, but can we leave after dinner?_**

/

"I'm sorry, Gail, I can't tonight," Andy said as she got into Sam's truck and started the engine. "I was supposed to be home ten minutes ago to relieve the babysitter."

Gail mumbled a number of expletives as Andy pulled out of the parking lot. Lately, her friend's lives were being pulled in all different directions and carpooling to work had become a big fat fail. It was Chris's turn to give her a ride home but he'd forgotten about his pick-up basketball game, which was on the other side of town, and left her stranded in the middle of the Station's parking lot. She decided then and there that she would conveniently forget to pick him up in the morning since it was her turn to drive.

Gail kicked at the ground with her boot, scattering tiny rocks in all directions. Taking the bus home was out of the question. It smelt like Dov's bare feet only tenfold mixed with urine. And seeing as she no longer took taxis alone, there was only one option left for her.

With a grunt, she shouldered her bag and made her way over to the red Toyota on the other side of the parking lot, where Chloe was trying and failing to get her over-sized gym bag into her tiny trunk. "Um, hey…" Gail bit her tongue when she had the urge to greet Chloe with one of her many not-so-nice nicknames. If there was ever a time to be nice it was now, Gail thought, before asking for a favor. In one swift move, she squished Chloe's bag into the trunk for her.

"Thank you. And hey to you too," Chloe beamed. "Are you here to hug me goodbye?" Chloe had obviously gotten over any earlier embarrassment. Unfortunately, the image of Chloe's hands in Frankie's pants as she squeezed the detective's ass was burned into Gail's memory forever.

"Very funny. Actually, if it's not too much trouble, I was hoping to catch a lift home?"

"And what do I get in return?" Gail wanted to wipe the smug look off Chloe's face with a biting retort but getting home to Holly–and Holly's fajitas–was more important.

"Oh, for fuck's sake." Gail pulled Chloe into a short hug before sliding into the passenger seat.

When Chloe got into the car a few seconds later she was grinning.

"Don't look too happy with yourself," Gail piped up after they'd driven a few blocks and Chloe was still wearing the same expression.

"It's hard not to. You hugged me. You! Gail Peck! Miss 'I hate hugs'!"

"Savor the memory because it was the last time," Gail grumbled. "Besides, I only did it for the free ride." Apparently, mean-girl Gail was back.

"Sure, sure." Chloe elbowed her, eyes still on the road. "Are you going to tell me to not hug Holly now?"

Gail's head fell back against the headrest. "No," she said begrudgingly. "Holly is free to hug who she wants," Gail rolled her head to the side, "Muppets included."

Chloe frowned. "I hate that nickname."

"Just not when it comes out of Frankie's mouth."

Chloe turned up her nose, and then the radio. She tapped her fingers against the steering wheel while they stopped at a set of traffic lights. "So… do you have any big plans for tonight?"

Gail laughed at Chloe's pathetic attempt to deflect the conversation away from herself. "Let's see…I have big eating plans. Holly is cooking a Mexican feast." Gail rubbed her hands together in excitement. She could picture Holly now, in their kitchen, shaking her ass to some cheesy pop song while dicing onions and peppers, and maybe a little bit of her own finger, too.

"Oooh! That sounds good! I'm so jealous," Chloe admitted.

"As you should be. Turns out I'm living with the world's best cook."

"And hottest."

"Hey!" Gail scolded.

As a reflex, Chloe ducked her head but continued smiling. "Holly is amazing. You're so lucky, Gail."

"You'll get no argument from me."

The next few blocks passed by very slowly as Chloe sung along with the radio—if you could even call it singing. Gail hadn't come across anyone that tone deaf before–it was both fascinating and torturous, and for some reason, she couldn't bring herself to cover her ears. When Chloe stopped her screeching, she let out a long, dramatic sigh. "I'm probably just going to go home to my cold, empty apartment and heat up one of those instant frozen Lasagne meals. Pretty depressing, eh?"

Gail looked out the window and grinned wickedly at her own reflection; Chloe was angling for a dinner invitation, and for the first time ever, Gail wanted to extend it to her. The thought of Frankie and Chloe trying to socialize and navigate their way through dinner amid all the awkwardness and likely palpable tension warmed Gail's insides. With that in mind, she pulled out her phone from her pocket and attacked the keys with a speed and accuracy she'd never achieved before. Gail chuckled to herself as she pressed send on her pre-emptive text to Holly.

 _Ok, don't kill me but you'll need to set the dinner table for four. Love, Satan. Xxx_.


End file.
